1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to laser scanning microscopes.
This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2009-239247, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In the related art, to examine a biological specimen in vivo over an extended period of time, there is a known scanning confocal microscope device that includes a culture vessel for accommodating a specimen at a particular temperature and humidity and an optical system space in which an optical system (such as an objective lens) for examining the specimen is disposed and which is maintained at substantially the same temperature as the interior of the culture vessel (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2008-256927).
In addition, there is a known multiphoton excitation laser scanning microscope that focuses ultrashort pulsed laser light on the surface of a specimen to increase the photon density near the focal plane thereof so that a fluorescent substance undergoes multiphoton excitation, thereby obtaining a sharp fluorescence image (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. HEI-11-149045).